Research Team

Omar Al-Khayat - PhD CandidateBiomimetic Carbon Dioxide to fuel conversionOmar joined us in 2012 following the completion of his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering and Commerce at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is developing a process for the conversion of CO2 into a useful fuel product under mild conditions by mimicking the light independent cycles in plants.oalk6080[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Nikki Amos - PhD CandidateRenewable energy from biomassNikki joined the Laboratory for Sustainable Technology in early 2010 after completing her undergraduate studies in Philosophy and Chemistry at the University of Sydney. Her research project focuses on the synthesis of advanced materials for use in the pyrolysis-gasification of biomass.namo0169[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Mobin Arab - PhD CandidateLarge-scale sorbent-based carbon captureMobin Joined SusTech lab in 2012 with a background in chemical engineering. He spent about 4 years working in climate change industry as an expert in energy industry after he successfully finished his master's course in Energy Systems Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, Iran. His PhD work in SusTech lab has a focus on large-scale sorbent base carbon capture technology (including calcium looping). Mobin also has collaborations with Laboratory for Multiscale Systems working on developing methods for working fluid design and optimization, which is based on computer simulations and numerical methods.mara4052[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Anja Coenen - PhD CandidateSynthesis of porous nanostructures with biotemplatesAnja joined us in 2009 after graduating with a Diploma in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Aachen, Germany. She spent 8 months in 2008 researching enzymatic Biosensor at Tohoku University, Japan. Now, Anja is researching the synthesis of porous nanostructures with biotemplates for her PhD. Anja's research is funded by an E.ON AG scholarship.acoe2406[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Anthony Ebert - MPhil CandidateCarbon nanotube incorporated supercapacitorsAnthony joined us in early 2010 following the completion of his undergraduate thesis in Chemical Engineering with the LST. His project involves developing improved and commercially viable supercapacitors incorporating carbon nanotubes.aebe5819[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Shaikh Nayeem Faisal - PhD CandidateGraphene-based biosensorsI am Shaikh Nayeem Faisal, graduated in Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. I have completed my Masters from Kyungpook National University, South Korea where I had worked on micro interfacial electrochemistry for developing enzymatic biosensors. Here I am interested on developing Graphene based biosensing & immunosensing devices as well as solid state DNA genome sequencer utilising nano-pore graphene. Beside research, I like traveling, passing time on beaches as well as playing beach sports.sdai9073[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Md Enamul Haque - PhD CandidateMetal-Organic Frameworks and Derivative MaterialsI joined this laboratory in July 2011 as a PhD student with a University of Sydney International Scholarship. I have a Master's degree in Chemistry from Kyungpook National University, South Korea, being awarded the BK (Brain of Korea) award for performance in research. I completed my Bachelor degree in Applied Chemistry & Chemical Technology from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. During my bachelor degree I got merit awards from the Dhaka University Alumni Association for the top academic result.My research interest includes Synthesis of Graphitic/porous Carbon from Metal-Organic-frameworks (MOFs) with its applications (Fuel Cell or capacitors) and CNT-MOF's.mhaq5792[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Alice King - PhD CandidateDevelopment of carbon nanotube scaffoldsAlice King joined us in June 2010 from Surrey (UK). She is working on the development of ordered, hierarchical CNT scaffolds for applications such as catalysis, bio-sensors and nanoscale electronics.akin2466[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Adrianus Leonardy - PhD CandidateCarbon Nanotubes Hybrid PhotocatalystLeo joined us in 2010. He holds Master degree in chemical engineering from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Leo was awarded the University of Sydney International Scholarship for the duration of his postgraduate studies. He is currently developing the synthesis of carbon nanotubes hybrid photocatalyst.aloe9330[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Audra Lukman - PhD CandidateExtracellular phytosynthesis of precious metal nanoparticlesAudra joined us in 2007 to assist with the running of the laboratory, and then started a PhD in 2008. She holds double B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and in Materials Science & Engineering, from the University of California at Berkeley. Audra's project involves the assessment of plant exudates to synthesise precious metal nanoparticles. She was awarded Grains Industry Research Scholarship (GRS) by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) for the duration of her studies.aluk6339[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Peter Newman - PhD candidateUsing carbon nanostructures to modify cell behaviours in tissue engineeringPeter joined us at the start of 2012. His project combines research between Laboratory of Sustainable Technology and the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Unit within the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering . His work aims to understand and manipulate cellular interactions by engineering surfaces with controlled nano-textures. In particular, the control of these textures will be achieved through use of carbon nanostructures.pnew2233@uni.sydney.edu.au(pnew2633[at]uni.sydney.edu.au)

Nikan Noorbehesht - PhD CandidateCarbon Nanostructures for Energy StorageHe joined the Laboratory for Sustainable Technology in early 2012 after achieving M.Sc. first class honours in Chemical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic). He graduated from IAU, Science and Research, Tehran with B.E.(Chem) Hons1. He have been awarded as a top undergraduate and postgraduate student from Iranian Association of Chemical Engineering due to his high academic records. He is funded by CSIRO- Future Manufacturing Flagship. His research interest relates to synthesis of novel carbon nanostructure materials consist of graphene sheets, with application in energy storage devices.nnoo8595[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Ehsan Pourazadi - PhD CandidateCarbon nanotube and graphene oxide inks for electronic devicesEhsan has joined our laboratory in the mid-2012 after his completion in M.Sc. from Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. He is working on "Performing carbon nanotube and graphene oxide inks to make high functional electronic devices, using printing technology". He has been awarded the University of Sydney International Scholarship. epou2171[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Mohammad Mizanur Rahman - PhD CandidateAqueous-phase reforming of biomass for hydrogen productionRahman joined us in mid-2010 from CUET, Bangladesh. He holds MSc in sustainable energy engineering from KTH, Sweden. He was awarded the University of Sydney International Scholarship for his post-graduate research.mrah7493[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Meherzad Variava - PhD CandidateSynthesis of carbon nanotubesMeherzad joined us in 2009 after obtaining his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from UNSW. His research project focuses on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes.mvar3795[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Xiaoshuang Yang (Henry) - PhD CandidateDevelopment of smart membranes for hydrogen separationHenry joined us in 2009 after completing a Masters in Tongji University, Shanghai. Henry is developing novel, nanoporous membranes to selectively separate hydrogen from carbon dioxide at high temperatures, and investigating the movement and reaction of hydrogen in porous media. His postgraduate studies are funded jointly by Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and China Scholarship Council (CSC). He will spend half of the time at ANSTO for his research work.xyan5399[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Jie Zhao - PhD Candidatejzha4450[at]uni.sydney.edu.au

Postdoctural Research

Dr Weimin ZhangNanostructured materials for energy conversion and storageWeimin completed his PhD in the field of fuel cells catalysis at the University of Wollongong, Australia. After one and a half years' postdoctoral research at the same University, Weimin moved onto an Associate Research Fellow position in the Laboratory of Sustainable Technology at the University of Sydney in October 2011. Weimin's main interest and research has focused on design and fabrication of nanostructured materials for energy conversion and storage.E weimin.zhang[at]sydney.edu.au